{"id":896,"date":"2015-05-25T17:04:50","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T00:04:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zigzorg.com\/?p=896"},"modified":"2015-05-27T10:31:25","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T17:31:25","slug":"wordplayer-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zigzorg.com\/?p=896","title":{"rendered":"Wordplayer #5 Death to the Reader"},"content":{"rendered":"

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http:\/\/www.wordplayer.com\/columns\/wp05.Death.to.Readers.html<\/p>\n

Death to the Reader<\/a><\/h1>\n

by Terry Rossio<\/p>\n

For those who don’t know what Wordplayer<\/a>\u00a0is, it’s a web blog created nearly two decades ago. It was written by the screenwriters of Aladdin (1992), Mask of Zorro (1998), and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (2003-2000 4ever): Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (ampersand intentional). It contains exactly\u00a0100 “columns” as they were called before the\u00a0word “blog” took\u00a0favor. The blog covers an intense amount of knowledge from working writers in the industry. At the time these blogs were written, the duo were working on re-writes of the Mask of Zorro<\/em> and providing thoughtful insight into the film without revealing the name of the project they were working on (the site is copyrighted 1997). I have found it to be an invaluable resource and a source of motivation in writing a screenplay. These guys like the same type of film I like: epic swashbuckling hero films!<\/p>\n

Column #5 Death to the Reader<\/a><\/em>\u00a0provides a checklist that “readers” use to evaluate an unsolicited\u00a0script sent to a film studio. A\u00a0reader<\/span> is\u00a0someone\u00a0who reads an unsolicited<\/em>\/spec<\/em> screenplay and provides\u00a0coverage\u00a0<\/em>of that script to their boss (typically a producer who works for a production company). A\u00a0spec<\/span> screenplay\u00a0is one that is\u00a0written on spec<\/span>ulation that it will be produced by Hollywood once someone has read it. Spec screenplays are written on the writer’s dime and time and there is guarantee it will ever be made.\u00a0Coverage<\/span> is a summary of the spec script with its pros and cons and why the studio executives should pass on the script or read it themselves and consider it for production. Having readers filter the good and bad screenplays for their bosses\u00a0is a\u00a0necessary evil. Without them, the studio executives would have no time for anything but reading screenplays, instead of making them. Unfortunately, many times it means your script will be read by college graduates instead of\u00a0studio executives and the life of your script depends solely on the coverage these readers write about your script.<\/p>\n

This Wordplayer column (“Death to the Reader<\/a>“) provides the checklist that readers use to screen\/filter the thousands of screenplays a studio can receive.\u00a0If your spec screenplay beats\u00a0this checklist, then your screenplay may\u00a0be considered further.<\/p>\n

No matter what stage of your screenplay you are in, there is extreme value in double checking your\u00a0script against this checklist. It may save you years of effort and rejection. It may also inspire you to write a better screenplay too. Whenever I read this list, I remember why I like movies and why I like Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio.<\/p>\n